A house of horrors which was turned into a makeshift rubbish tip looks set to finally be cleared after a nightmare tenant was booted out of the property.
Families had complained their lives had been made hell for more than a year by the festering mountain of waste on Peach Avenue, in Stafford. Disgusted homeowners said the eyesore had attracted rats, caused health problems for their children and accused council bosses of doing nothing to help.
But after their plight made headlines, Stafford Borough Council stepped in to take court action against tenant Steven Glover. He has now been evicted from the property after the authority secured a three month closure order from magistrates.
It comes after Mr Glover failed to comply with a notice ordering him to remove the tonnes of waste and clear up the garden to its previous state. It means nobody is allowed to enter the property for the next three months apart from emergency services or council workers.
Work has now started to remove the piles of debris stacked up on the driveway – including rubble, sofas, mattresses, wooden panels, fridges and carpets. One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “Everyone is breathing a huge sigh of relief. – but it’s a bit of a joke it has taken this long.”
“We’ve since had rats in our house and trapped 13 so far. We’ve been here 20 years and never had them before so we know its all down to that mess.”
“And I don’t think its any coincidence this all got sorted as soon as the council got some bad publicity over it. But at least it looks to finally be over now but we’ll believe it when we see it. It’s certainly a step in the right direction.”
Locals had claimed the tenant had been collecting waste and burning it day and night rather than disposing of it at the local tip. They said their lives were made a misery by the ‘stinking’ health hazard which sat just yards away from a primary school.
One mum-of-two, who did not want to be named, said: “I first complained to the council last August and it has just snowballed from there.”
“In November they were able to confirm to me they didn’t have a licence to do this, yet nothing was done. There’s rats everywhere, it towers so high I don’t know how it hasn’t fallen over yet and it absolutely stinks.”
“There’s metal spilling out into the street, its not just confined to the garden, I’ve lost count at how any cars have had their tyres punctured.”
“It’s not safe. Its a major health hazard and its been allowed to rot for a year. There’s debris everywhere. He’ll come out and smash glass.”
“I’m just so disheartened that we’ve been left to live next to this without anyone seemingly wanting to help.”
The council said they will now be billing the tenant to recover the costs of the work, which is expected to run into thousands of pounds.
Councillor Ian Fordham, cabinet member for environment, said: “I hope this will bring an end to the misery this person has brought to the residents of Peach Avenue.”
“It was crucial that we had the proper legal process in place to not only get this unsightly mess removed, but to ensure it did not happen on this land again.
“We have secured a Closure Order from the courts that bans anyone, including the tenant, from stepping foot on the property. If they do they can be arrested.”
“We have arranged for the house to be boarded up and for this significant amount of rubbish to be removed – and we will be billing the tenant or owner for the cost of doing that.”
“We will be working with the owner to make sure the house can be brought back into use and become a positive addition to the street.”
He added: “Thank you to the police and other partners for their help in making sure we get the right outcome for the neighbours and we will work with residents to address any ongoing concerns they may have.”
